Q: Tell us about your childhood, where you grew up, and when your
creativity began.
I'm a California girl, originally from Los Angeles. When I was 8, we moved up to Santa Cruz, but life happened, & I moved back down to Orange County to live with my mom & graduated high school in Los Alamitos. I have lived up & down the state, from San Diego to Bridgeville (Eureka). As well as brief stays NY, RI, & IL! In 1976, at the ripe old age of 23, I landed in southern OR, where I grew some serious roots!!

I'm not sure when I first discovered crafting. My mom had my first clay project forever! An ugly little Technicolor bowl I made when I was 5 or 6. She used it to hold pins in her sewing cabinet up until not many years ago, when I think she said it got broken. My step mom was a kindergarten teacher & she used to sit the 6 kids of us down regularly, and we'd all do craft projects. I'm sure it was her way to keep us from driving her crazier than we all did, and I learned how to do mosaics! We did a lot of mosaics! She was & still is very artistic.

When I was in high school, Arts & Crafts was my favorite class. Not so much the "art" part of it! I never have been able to draw worth a hill of beans! LOL!! I specialized in rabbits, horses, & owls, but all of my drawings looked the same every time I did one!! My aunt is probably the one I took after. She draws & has done almost every craft there is. Unlike my mom, who draws stickmen, like me!

Q: To what do you attribute your talents and what inspires you? 
Oh my... I'd say that I'd attribute my so called talents to persistence.  Or lack of satisfaction with my own work. I am the worlds slowest when it comes to coming up with an idea & working it till I come up with an end product that I'm satisfied with. As for inspiration, I'm a good copier! Books & magazines are a must, as is the internet! I love looking at card galleries.

Q: How did you find PWA?
I ran across one of Suzanne's posts on one of the many stamping lists I'm on. I've owned micro beads for ages & just never used them much. Like a lot of my stamping supplies! I thought joining the group would give me incentive to actually use my stash! Not only has it done that, but my bead stash is much bigger now!

Q: When did you begin stamping?
I owe my stamping habit to none other than Carol Duval! I happened to turn her on back in early 1997 & was totally enthralled with her stamping a peacock feather & embossing it with holographic embossing powder! I headed out as soon as I could & tried to find that feather stamp & some Holo ep! I found WAY more than I'd bargained for! Seems there was a lot more to stamping than what I saw that day! I soon discovered that Medford, OR had more than 1 stamp store, along with a Michael's & Craft Warehouse. We moved to Portland (Gresham) later that same year, and I was thrilled to find more (& better) stores up there! My collection of stamping supplies just started to grow & grow! I'm a firm believer in the Rules of Acquisition, and my craft room proves it!

While living in Gresham, I was lucky enough to find a small local stamp store to hang out in while working on my stamping skills. I ended up working there part time, and teaching occasional technique classes. Then in 2000, I got a job with Paper Parachute, doing everything from manufacturing stamps to helping create cards for idea boards & classes, and working conventions & trade shows. Working with Agi opened my eyes to a whole new rubber world, and had a big impact on my stamping style.

I never did find that feather stamp!

Q: What is your favorite stamping technique?
I don't think I have an absolute favorite technique. My stamping style varies with my moods & what new-to-me technique I've discovered. But, I'm notorious at learning & mass-producing a new technique and never actually producing cards with it! I love making background papers. I don't do cute & fluffy, and have been known to feed House Rats to cats! I layer everything! The more layers the better! I still love embossing powder. And I don't seem to know how to make a simple card! I also like to make booklets & boxes. "Mechanical" stuff!

Q: Do you have any other hobbies or interests, besides Stamping?
Oh yes! Currently, polymer clay is my other hobby. Not that I play with it much right now… But I have all the tools & supplies & books I'll ever need to own!

I'm also teaching myself to be a better photographer. I pack my digital camera everywhere we go & am constantly taking pictures of everything from the scenery, to the rocks on the ground (or in mountainsides!). I'm still trying for that perfect wildlife shot, and much to their dismay, practice on my cats on a regular basis! I love to take pictures of texture. Between the glacier ice & the colors & variety of rocks up here, I always find another "unique" perfect picture to, if nothing else, turn into computer wallpaper! LOL!!

Other hobbies I've been in to over the years include X-stitch, crochet, leather work, candles, copper embossing, paper-making, sewing, embroidery, glass painting (staining), beading, mosaic, and assorted other crafty things! If you look around my house, you will still find the stuff to do all of these "hobbies"!

I read a LOT!! I enjoy puttering in my yard but hate pulling weeds. I'm a frustrated geologist & MUST collect cool rocks wherever I go! My goal these days is to find that overlooked chunk of gold that is big enough to pay for our retirement! And, I'm one of the world's worst housekeepers! I would rather do anything else! LOL!

Q: Will you show us some pictures of your stamp/craft room?
Sure! Welcome to my Blues Clues Room! It's about 14' x 14', and I should have painted it before putting all the furniture in it! But I love it!